In 1888 the United Ancient Order of Druids (U.A.O.D.), a fraternal order, erected a monument in the Forest Home Cemetery outside Chicago. This cemetery, in the past know as German Waldheim Cemetery, was one of the few non-denominational cemeteries in the Chicago area, attracting an eclectic mix of graves sites, including masons, gypsies, radicals and atheists. I revisited the UAOD monument for a closer look, wanting to examine the symbolism of the monument.

The picture above was taken from a rear view; all photos I have seen of this monument are from the face view of the druid at the top of the pillar. You can see the concentric rings in the form of stone logs surrounding the monument. Within the rings are gravestones, which I assume were members or family of members of the fraternity. Several stones around the monument have Masonic symbols on it, as pictured below.

Mason Gravestone Symbols

Druid Monument All Seeing Eye

There is an image on the pillar (pictured left), of an eye in an upside down triangle, sort of the reverse of the image of the great seal on our dollar bill, the All Seeing Eye. Looking at the details of the druid atop the pillar, I’m not sure what the symbolism stands for. The druid has a sickle over his right shoulder, and holds a staff with the head of a cherub at the tip. He stands with a foot on four stacked stones. The druid’s expression is curious…sort of melancholy. Perhaps the druid, in empathy, is expressing the emotions of those who will visit their departed loved ones here.

Druid Monument

Looking at the dates of the gravestones circling the druid, nobody has been interred here for a long time. This curious monument is a part of a history long past, an organization that may have in time become forgotten, except for this monument as a reminder. A dramatic monument is a good way to keep their history alive when all their members are gone. After all, I am writing about this in 2010, 122 years after it was erected.

I took many pictures of the monument with the hope a few would turn out well. It was an intensely hot and sunny day. In one photo below, I captured an orb. It is a photo of the statue from the shaded side, and at first I did not notice it. But then it caught my eye. Orbs are almost always captured as the result of a camera’s flash reflecting off of dust or raindrops. In the sunlight a flash was not happening. Daylight orbs are pretty rare. For sure it could just be an optical affect. Yet we have bright purple orb in the shadow of the druid. The romantic in me likes to imagine there is still a spiritual energy around this wonderful monument, and I caught a glimpse of it.

The Law of Attraction not only works on a personal level, it works on a national level. What we think, what we put into our minds, will become the fruit of our lives. What we think turns into how we act, and our actions influence our surroundings, our world reflecting our state of mind.

History is full of examples where entire societies have embraced either positive or negative ideals with positive or negative national results. When a society embraces fear and negativity, the result can be burning witches at the stake, slavery and civil war, or the rise of totalitarianism.

I believe we had such an experience these past eight years of the Bush administration. The Bush administration embraced negativity as a tool for power. Its governing philosophy was to rule from the base, happy to get 50.1% and rule with that alone…to divide and conquer our society. They split America into “them” people and proper God fearing Americans. It used scare tactics to win power. They played on our fears and prejudices, using the threat of terrorism to the “danger” of gay marriage to win reelection. Its political campaigns were such ugly things.

In the past eight years I have seen an increasing national negativity that I have never seen before in my lifetime. It felt like a national emotional depression. As the Law of Attraction would predict, this overwhelming negativity climaxed in a real-life disaster, an economic collapse. This collapse did not have to happen. How did this occur? Why did 50.1% support the “dark side”? Who is the architect of our national malaise? Who was the dark-side’s Emperor?

Bush’s mentors were Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. If this were a Star Wars movie, Anakin Bush could never rise to the level of a Vader. Anakin Bush was a lackluster apprentice, feeble at wielding the dark force alone. He’d forever be stuck as a Vader wannabe. But were either Cheney or Rove the Emperor, the source behind the power of negativity? They certainly fit the mold. They were both practiced experts with the Law of Negative Attraction and achieved great, horrible results with it.

But were they truly the source? I suggest that the Law of Negative Attraction is far larger then any one person. It is a political philosophy. Listen to the advocates of the Law of Negative Attraction and you will understand my point. Watch the religious right; listen to the right-wing radio talk shows, read their columnists. They are dripping with negativity. It’s as if they hate anyone or anything other then their own.

Today the power of the Negative Side is broken. It’s being replaced with power of the Positive Side. Obama is the exact opposite of Bush in every way. Where Bush was inarticulate, distained reading newspapers and dismissive of different ideas; Obama is eloquent, an amazing writer and has a team of rivals in his cabinet. Look at the reaction of the country! It’s as if a grim cloud has lifted and the sun is just now starting to shine. The yearning for change had its effect on our national law of attraction. Was it only by chance that our national desire for change found a spokesman?

Today is Obama’s inauguration, and it will feel like the final scenes from Return of the Jedi, when the Death Star explodes in the sky and there is huge celebration and fireworks all over the world below. Luke Obama is now in charge!